Author

Tim Henderson

Tim Henderson

Tim Henderson covers demographics for Stateline. He has been a reporter at the Miami Herald, the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Journal News.

A family strolls in a Connecticut park.

Births decline in most states, continuing a long-term trend

By: - May 25, 2023

Fast-growing Texas and Florida had the biggest increases in the number of births last year, while a dozen other states — half of them in the South — continued to rebound from pandemic lows. In the United States as a whole, however, the number of births has plateaued after a modest increase following the worst […]

Construction of a Seattle waterfront project.

A few cities are regaining residents after shrinking during the pandemic

By: - May 18, 2023

The vast majority of American cities are shrinking, but new data shows that a few are regaining residents after population declines early in the pandemic — bolstered, perhaps, by the rapid construction of new homes. Seattle, Houston, Atlanta and Tucson, Arizona, are among the cities that lost population between 2020 and 2021 but now have more people […]

Immigrants receive aid at a hotel in El Paso, Texas.

Expiration of Title 42 border rule prompts much rhetoric, less action

By: - May 17, 2023

The end of a pandemic-era policy that allowed U.S. border authorities to quickly turn back some migrants has prompted a mixed reaction from state and local governments, including new restrictions on immigrant workers, beefed up border enforcement and entreaties for more federal help. But unlike the 2010s, when conservative states such as Alabama, Arizona and […]

children on a playground

Low fertility rates, high housing prices mean fewer children in most states

By: - May 11, 2023

Thirty-five states have fewer children than they did five years ago, a situation caused by declining birth rates nationwide, but also by young families migrating across state borders in search of cheaper housing. Even in the 15 states that gained children, all but North Dakota experienced greater growth in the adult population, meaning children now […]

Tenants in Los Angeles held a protest earlier this year against the sale of their rental building to investors.

With few rentals available, states push local officials to allow more housing

By: - April 27, 2023

In Massachusetts, where available rental apartments are scarcer than anywhere else, there’s a political battle raging over whether suburban towns should help boost the housing supply by allowing denser development. Similar debates have erupted all over the Northeast and West Coast, as officials in states with housing shortages scramble to keep their residents — and […]

Cities shrink but immigrants help stem population losses

By: - April 19, 2023

Continuing a pandemic trend, Americans are moving to the South and Southwest and from cities to the suburbs in search of more space and homes they can afford, recent government data indicates. But immigration, which is starting to bounce back from pandemic lows, has helped mitigate population loss in major cities. A Stateline analysis of […]

Gun Deaths Drive Historic Spike in Child Mortality Rates

By: and - April 18, 2023

After decades of steady improvement, the death rate of America’s children and teens shot up between 2019 and 2021 — and COVID-19 wasn’t the reason. Gun-related deaths represented the largest share of the increase — by far. According to an analysis of the most recent death certificate data from the federal Centers for Disease Control […]

States Feel Budget Pinch Amid Darkening Revenue Projections

By: - April 10, 2023

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct a reference to personal income in Washington state. After two years of record tax collections, budget writers in some states are starting to feel a revenue pinch created by a slumping stock market, banking and tech layoffs, slower consumer spending and lower energy prices.  Buoyed by […]

To Prevent Gun Suicide, States Consider Allowing People to Deny Themselves a Gun

By: - March 16, 2023

As lawmakers and mental health advocates wrestle with how to stop the avalanche of suicides by firearm in this country, some are looking to a novel idea at work in a handful of states: Register yourself as a suicide risk so you can’t buy a gun on a whim. Mass shootings get more attention, but […]

Urban Areas Are Adding People and Gobbling Up Land in Most States

By: - March 8, 2023

The percentage of residents living in areas the U.S. Census Bureau calls “urban” grew in 36 states between 2010 and 2020, led by booming cities and suburbs in the South, Southwest, Midwest and California, according to a new Stateline analysis. Among urban areas with populations of at least half a million, the Texas capital city of Austin grew the […]

Bourbon Connoisseurs’ Spirits Run High, Then Low, as States Allot Rare Bottles

By: - February 21, 2023

As liquor connoisseurs’ quest for certain high-end bourbons becomes a blood sport, the 17 states that control their own liquor stores have adopted more and more complex methods to stop obsessed seekers from gaming the system by stalking delivery trucks and reselling sought-after bottles on the black market.   Over the past decade, bourbon, once […]

Some Towns Get Funding Boost From Census Corrections

By: - February 10, 2023

After the U.S. Census Bureau released its first round of official 2020 population corrections in January, many states and cities still await action on the bulk of their counting issues and the funding shortfalls those mishaps can cause. Early winners are those areas where the census had clear technical problems — where mapping issues or […]